Kennedy stays close, two shots back of leader Otsuki 

Overnight leader Brad Kennedy of Australia survived a difficult day to head into the final day of the Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament, still in the hunt for his first JGTO title in four years.
 
The 47-year-old, a three-time JGTO winner, battled to a one-under-par 69 at the Toride Kokusai's East Course on Saturday to slip to joint second, trailing Tomoharu Otsuki by two shots.
 
Leading by two at the start of the day, Kennedy struggled to make any headway in the early stages and dropped a bogey on fifth instead. He fought back well to pick up shots from the two par-fives on nine and 10.
 
Kennedy then birdied the 16 to make up for another blemish on 15 to end the day on 17-under-par 193 total.
 
Thailand's Gunn Charoenkul and last year's joint runner-up Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe carded 65 and 66 respectively to be tied fifth and four shots off the pace, earning themselves an outside chance of emerging as the first international winner on the JGTO this season.
 
With just a two-stroke deficit, Kennedy remains upbeat about his chances to return to winning ways having last won at the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup in 2018.
 
"I'll reflect on today and see what happens but being just two shots behind, that can be easily done in the first couple of holes," said Kennedy.
 
"I got reset my game plan for tomorrow and coming out with a really good mindset.
 
"Just really get those wedges to work, which I have been doing the last couple of days. I just felt for today, I spun a lot of shots away from the flag. That was a bit frustrating. 
 
"But I'm still there, sometimes you do get through patches in tournaments, but I'm sort of happy that I grinded it out even though there's a lot of guys making birdies. It was one of those days that I had to stay patient."

Otsuki would be disappointed that he could not finish the day with a more commanding lead.
 
The 32-year-old started with all guns blazing, reeling birdies in six of his first 10 holes before running out of steam. 
 
He conceded a bogey on 17 to settle for a 65, leaving him just two shots ahead of Kennedy and in-form compatriots Shugo Imahira and Kazuki Higa, who are both seeking to become the first multiple winners of the season.

"I had a good run in the front-nine but somehow, I couldn't judge the distance correctly in the back-nine. I have a two-shot advantage but the pressure will be on me if it gets reduced or I cannot extend it tomorrow. I can only hope to play my best golf tomorrow," said Otsuki. 
 
Imahira, the winner of last week's Asia Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup, stayed on course for a back-to-back title after firing a bogey-free 61 that included an eagle on the par-five 10th. 

Higa, the Kansai Open champion last month, refused to be outdone too, as he sizzled with a faultless 62 to ensure a thrilling finale is on the cards tomorrow.